Little finds...

So, like you I'm out there working really hard to make a living and when I have time to grocery shop, it is not something that I want to take all day.  I live in a small town outside of Phoenix, AZ and my grocery options are pretty slim.  We have a Wal-Mart, a Fry's (owned by Kroger) and a small independent grocer who excels in Mexican food items and ingredients, but, that's about it.  So I am always impressed when I can find a brand that is ethical, not factory farmed and available at a major chain.  I know we have all heard the term "Free Range" but, what does that mean? Conventional egg-production agriculture (also known as confined animal feeding operation or CAFO) raises hens indoors, in cages.  In this scenario animal welfare, environmental damage, and nutritional impacts are all factors we should all be considering. In addition, egg-laying hens confined to cages do not have space to move. They become fearful and prone to skeletal problems. Large numbers of animals confined in small spaces also pollute the air, water and soil with the huge amounts of manure they produce in such a small space. This can also increase the spread bacteria and salmonella (http://news.discovery.com/human/health/egg-salmonella-bacteria.htm) into our food/supply chain. According to USDA regulations, free-range, egg-producing hens must be given access to the outdoors. Unfortunately, many large commercial egg producers get away with giving their hens access to a tiny, covered outdoor area. True free-range eggs are from hens that range freely outdoors on a pasture where they can forage for their natural diet, which includes seeds, green plants, insects, and worms. Most often, you will find these eggs at a local farm or farmers market.
 Although, free range may only mean a few minutes outdoors to some companies and then back into an overcrowded barn for the remainder of the day, this company seems to be different. The hens do have a pasture and space to move freely.  If you haven't used farm fresh eggs or truly cage free eggs in the past, you will be surprised at the quality, the thickness of the shell, the color of the yolk and the taste! It really does make a huge difference.
 You can check out their website at http://nestfresh.com/default.aspx. I must admit, I also buy eggs from my local small farms, but, when you are in a hurry this is just the ticket!

my purchase.

 

I have said before that this is all new to me and it is a journey.  I am not vegan and don't know if I plan on becoming vegan, ever.  I just know that I want to make a difference.  I want healthy food options that do not involve excessive cruelty.  So yes, I still eat eggs, but that being said I am happy to find new and better options out there.  Why not support the farmers who are trying to do it right?!

Make me beautiful and make it creulty free!

Cruelty free beauty is a trend that I can totally get behind.  It's not totally new, but, it has gained a new popularity in the last several years and the good news is, is that there are lots of great brands out there that do not test on animals! Animal testing for cosmetics is really unnecessary.  Did you know that there are actually new and more accurate ways to test human reaction to cosmetics? There are  tests that use human cell cultures. They are now able to use these cell cultures to make artificial human "skin" and "eyes" that mimic the body's natural properties, and a number of virtual organs that serve as accurate models of human body parts.  Cool huh!? Hooray for science! So, the blinding and poisoning of hundreds of thousands of animals a year (according to PETA) in the testing of cosmetics, personal care products and cleaning products could be considered completely archaic.
So lets get down to the fun stuff!  Where should we go to pick out that new to-die-for pink lipstick? We should go to a cruelty free company, of course! I will also give you PETA's link to cruelty free beauty companies, http://www.peta.org/living/beauty-and-personal-care/companies/.  It is a good place to start for sure! You can also check out http://www.leapingbunny.org/partners.php for leaping bunny cruelty free partners.
Here are a few of my favorite cruelty free brands and even some of my favorite products! Have a BEAUTIFUL day!

1. LUSH Cosmetics
http://www.lush.com/
LUSH has a long history of fighting against animal testing as well as selling cruelty free bath and beauty products. They have been a leader in the cruelty free beauty world for 30 years!

This is the Honey Bee bath bomb! It's got the scent of honey and toffee and leaves your skin soft and lightly fragranced.  Bath bombs are hard to find in the first place, but, for me the only place to get them is LUSH!

2. Urban Decay
http://www.urbandecay.com/
Although Urban Decay briefly had it's cruelty free leaping bunny certification taken away in 2012, it is back. Urban Decay has delighted it's fans by giving up it's market share in China until non-animal testing methods are accepted by the Chinese government. Nicely done Urban Decay!

Urban Decay's eyeshadow primer potion is simply awesome. Apply just a touch before you put on your eyeshadow and the result is eyeshadow that lasts all day and into the night! Your eyes will look fabulous.

3. Crazy Rumors
http://crazyrumors.com/
Crazy Rumors makes vegan, gluten free, cruelty free lip balms. They have loads of fun flavors and if you are a lip balm freak like me you will love them!

I am a sucker for red velvet cake and this lip balm has the amazing fragrance of that decadent dessert without all of the sweat in the kitchen. It is made with super moisturizing shea butter and will leave you lips kissable and soft.

4. Tarte Cosmetics
http://tartecosmetics.com/
Tarte is another great cruelty free makeup and skincare line. Tarte makeup comes in tons of beautiful colors and is available at Sephora (http://www.sephora.com/) so it is easy to find in most malls.  The makeup is great quality and is treasured by those who own it, I know I love it!

Aqualillies for tarte Amazonian clay waterproof liner in black is just what you need for long summer days. It is waterproof and stays like a champ. According to the Tarte website, it holds up against rain, sweat tears and even swimming! So get out there and get wet and look beautiful doing it!

What is an Ag-Gag bill and why is it Anti-American?

An ag-gag bill or anti-whistleblower bill is, as defined by the Humane Society of the United States is as follows;
"Anti-whistleblower bills effectively block anyone from exposing animal cruelty, food-safety issues, poor working conditions, and more, by way of the following; Banning taking a photo or video of a factory farm without permission, essentially making it a crime for an investigator to get work at a factory farm, or renquiring mandatory reporting with impossibly short time lines so that no pattern of abuse can be documented."
I am a freedom loving American, who, in general would like smaller government and the freedom to live my life without the government controlling all that I do and all that I say.  The government should be there to help the truly defenseless, provide infrastructure and to protect us from outside threats.  I believe that ag-gag legislation ( a phrase coined by Mark Bittman an American cook book author and journalist) really goes against our American roots and quite frankly against my conservative values.  Not only do these bills condone cruelty, they inhibit freedom of speech. How is America, as a nation, better served by telling it's people not to stand up for what is right? Should we be telling our citizens to turn a blind eye to blatant cruelty? And to those who support this type of abuse, because they are just livestock, you are telling me that you will attempt to silence those who disagree?  That is not American, it is, if I dare say, Anti-American.  I will admit, it really aggravates me when someone bashes former President George W. Bush, but, guess what, that is there right as an American! Freedom of speech is a fundamental right in our amazing nation. This amazing gift from our founding fathers is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution and it is the cornerstone of many of our other rights. Lets not be idiots and legislate that away bit by bit.  This type of legislation really must be defeated and in order for that to happen, we need to stand united, as Americans. This is not a left and right issue.  This is an American issue.  Know where your food comes from and never ever let anyone take away your right to speak out!

Mary Matalin Urges Lawmakers to Bury 'Ag-Gag' Bills

As a life long republican I am so excited to see this, I know that as I continue to research and get involved I will find more people out there like me.  Thank you Mary Matalin for standing up for what is right.

My journey begins...

So, this is a Blog about my journey. I am pretty much the average American.  I work full time, love my family, try to make time to stay involved with my friends and occasionally go out and have a good time (when my budget permits).  I am a pretty conservative republican who lives in a red state and believes in limited government and the right to bear arms.  I come from a family of cattle ranchers on my Mom's side and have always been a meat eater.  I'm not going to lie, I love steak.  I have probably lost some of you already.  How about we fast forward to why I am here, writing this blog.  A couple of years ago, my fiancé and I traveled back east, which we do quite frequently, and had dinner with some very dear friends.  Our friends are vegetarian and quite involved in the study of and practice of veterinary bioethics.  I talk a lot, maybe my dad should have skipped the Blarney stone on our trip to Ireland, and as usual I was full of questions for them.  They shared their knowledge without hesitation and most importantly without being pushy.  During the course of our evening one of our friends recommended a book, that book was Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.  This book changed everything for me.

 

The book that changed everything.

 

I bought the book as soon as we returned to Arizona. I started it with some trepidation. Did I really want to know? Was it really all that bad?   I mean, my family are good people and they were ranchers. I have been to working ranches and here is the deal, we have to eat.  I read and read and read.  The things I learned were horrible and tragic and even a bit overwhelming.  Before this book I had no idea that there was even such a thing as a factory farm.  The farms and ranches that I have known in my life are small, with cattle that wander the pastures and eat grass.  They are definitely not cement floors and steel cages, cattle prods and a life of torture, misery and abuse. I was horrified and the images seared into my brain would not leave me. I kept thinking, is the life of my dog worth more than that of a mother pig or her baby? Before this book I really had never thought too much about it. I had to learn more.  My next step was to rent Food Inc. (http://www.takepart.com/foodinc) and incredible documentary about where our food comes from and the impact of factory farming on our health, the animals and society.  This was pretty tame, but,  opened my eyes even more to an issue that effects every one of us.  The more I learned, the more I wanted to share.  Unfortunately, to my surprise, no one wanted to hear about it.  I was devastated.  I mean, I still ate meat (although at that point I had switched to grass fed, free range meat from places I considered to be somewhat more humane) I wasn't some crazed vegan tree hugger throwing red paint on people, I just wanted them to know.  But, nobody wanted to know.  If I brought up the subject to my friends I would hear "that's sad, don't talk about it" or "enough, I don't want to know that" I always thought and still think, why? Why would you not want to know where your food comes from? Is it better to live in blissful ignorance? Don't you want to make an educated decision about what you feed your family? The resounding answer was that it was better not to know, because the truth was "sad".

 

Food, INC. Seriously, watch it.

 

This blog isn't about changing your mind.  I am on my own journey.  I don't even know what is right for me yet.  What I do know is that factory farming is cruel to the animals, bad for the environment and really not good for our health. Health risks can include unnecessary chemicals in our food, an increased risk of e.coli and other ickyness. I also know that we can do something about it! We live in America and we have a say, we vote with our wallets every time we pick up a package of beef at the store.  Our nation is all about supply and demand and that is wonderful! If we demand that animals that sacrifice for us are treated well and slaughtered "humanely" then that is how meat will be produced.  I know that slaughtered humanely is an oxymoron and that it will piss some of you off, but, well, like I said before, this is my journey and these are my thoughts.  So, next time you are wandering the meat aisle at the grocery store, take just a moment to consider the source of your dinner and vote!